Darkest Before The Dawn
by xxwanderlustdreamingxx
Summary: Somewhere in the near future, the government and the public are aware of the existence of all things supernatural. In a world where vampires and werewolves are at war with each other, a government agency gone rogue is responsible for the systematic roundup and extermination of these supernatural beings and their sympathizers. 23 year old human Elena Gilbert is #1 one on their list
1. Prologue

**Unknown Location 2017**

In a stark white room, deep within a high security location, two men gazed thoughtfully at 3 photographs on a digitized screen. People buzzed around them, busy with their own work, and for the most part ignoring the odd duo.

The older man turned to the younger.

"Is this some sort of trick Travis? They're all identical." He growled.

The younger man flinched. When he'd received this assignment he'd hardly dared to believe that he would be presenting his findings to the head of the organization. To say that he was quaking in his boots right now would be a vast understatement.

"No trick Sir, I assure you. These three women are all descended from the same bloodline."

The older man raised an eyebrow, glancing at his Rolex.

"Tell me. I don't have all day."

Travis motioned to the first photograph, which was a yellowed sketch drawing dated back centuries.

"That's Tatia Petrova. I couldn't find out much about her, she's been dead for centuries now. But legend has it that it was her blood that led to the creation of the vampire line."

The other stared thoughtfully at the screen.

"That's very interesting. How is the hunt for the Originals going?"

"That's not my area of expertise Sir, I'm sorry."

The other yelled at someone across the room.

"Sanders! How's the Original hunt going!"

"Looking positive so far Agent Kruschev! We seem to have narrowed down a location Sir!" Another analyst replied from his work station.

"And what do we know of Katerina Petrova?" Kruschev turned his keen gaze back to the screen, motioning to the middle picture. He rubbed the scar on his neck. He and Katerina were well acquainted.

"Her last known location was Mystic Falls, Virginia. That was a year ago, she seems to have fallen off the radar. We've got eyes all over the world looking for her though, once I get a hit I'll let you know."

Kruschev nodded, pleased.

"And the third? I don't think I've ever heard of her before."

Travis exhaled nervously.

"It's because she's still human. Her name is Elena Gilbert. She's the last known Petrova. Want to know the best bit?"

Kruschev nodded, waiting for the bomb to drop.

"Current place of residence… Mystic Falls Virginia."

Kruschev turned to Travis.

"You know the drill. Give the orders to bring her in. Keep it quiet, keep it discreet. We don't want any human rights watch groups like the UN breathing down our necks."

Travis nodded nervously as a way of reply, watching warily as Kruschev crossed the room.

"Oh and Travis?"

He jumped, cursing himself for being so scared of his mysterious boss.

"Tell Coulson that if he fails it'll be him I feed to the Hybrids."

**4 Years Ago: Mystic Falls, Virginia**

"_And in other news, the President has written into law the creation of an anti supernatural specialist group that will be responsible for rounding up all supernatural creatures."_

Elijah frowned, leaning forward in his seat as the reporter continued.

"_The move by President Jackson has been met with overwhelming support by Congress and the general public, with many agreeing that the need for a government agency has been far overdue. Orders to shoot on sight have been given, among with other enforcement powers that are as of yet unknown to us."_

Klaus ambled into the room, eyeing the television with a snort.

"You think they'll actually be a threat?"

Elijah waved a hand to silence him, keeping his gaze trained on the television.

"_President Jackson stated in a press conference yesterday that he hoped that the creation of this agency would put people's minds at ease, knowing that the government has the best interests of the people at heart. We can only hope that with the elimination of all supernatural creatures, our children will be safe again. I'm Andie Sutherland, reporting for Fox News."_

With a roll of the eyes, Klaus leaned forward, hitting the mute button the remote.

"Please tell me you're not actually concerned about this? Are they really using children as a cover for their nefarious plans? If that weren't so pathetic I'd actually admire them for it."

Elijah relaxed back into the armchair, gazing up at his younger brother.

"I think it's a situation that requires my attention. This could escalate quickly."

Klaus rolled his eyes again.

"I hardly think it's something that we have to worry about. We're Originals mate. We're untouchable." He pronounced with a roguish wink.

"We may not have anything to worry about. But what of our friends who do not possess the same powers that we do? What of Stefan or Caroline?"

Something passed across Klaus's face as he frowned, and the shadow of a smile ghosted across Elijah's face.

"You can't always be there to protect her. Niklaus. One day she'll find out that you've been watching her, and her fury will be something to behold." He replied with a chuckle, recalling the blonde vampire's spirit on a number of occasions.

Klaus seemed to collapse in on himself, almost resigning himself to his brother's whims.

"What do you want me to do?"

Elijah brought his fingers together, gazing thoughtfully at them.

"We need someone on the inside, a human, not compelled. Someone who will keep us informed of the movement's of this organization and who they are targeting. Do you have anyone who is able to fulfill this role?"

Klaus nodded.

"I have just the person. An analyst at the CIA. I did a favor for his father years ago, so he owes me a debt."

"Good. Make sure he is aware of how dangerous this is. We can't have him being found out by the heads of this organization. We need him there from the beginning, so we're going to need to move quickly."

"What are you going to do?"

Elijah stood, tugging at his jacket and sitting it straight.

"I'm going to leave town for a short while. There are a few people that I need to contact. Please keep an eye on Elena and ensure that the Salvatore brothers do nothing stupid?"

"Easier said than done." Klaus grumbled. "Can't we just kill them already? My existence would be so much more meaningful."

Elijah sighed and raised an eyebrow.

"Niklaus. We will need the doppelganger on our side in the years to come. Killing the Salvatore brothers will achieve nothing. There is definitely more to Elena Gilbert than meets the eye."


	2. Chapter 2

Slamming the door behind him, Agent Dimitri Kruschev crossed the room and sank into the chair behind his desk with a soft groan.

Today had been trying. It had started off with a meeting with the President, ensuring him that no, he wasn't abusing his powers that had been bestowed upon him as the head of the organisation, and yes he still had the best interests of the people at heart.

The man had been persistent, not seeming to believe his seemingly casual and offhand replies to his questions. He would have to go, and soon. A man who was beginning to ask questions was a man who could dig deeper, and even get the agency shut down.

The Supernatural Resistance Agency (or the SRA) as it was more commonly known was his baby. It was him who had gone to the president when he won office, recognising parts of himself in the militaristic President Jackson. The president had been shocked to discover the existence of the supernatural, but once shown an overwhelming amount of proof had been on board from the start.

It was almost too easy from then on in. A public announcement had been made, outing the existence of vampires, werewolves, and the deadliest of them all; hybrids. Public outrage had been rife, leading to riots and protests all over America and the world.

It was him that had been overwhelmingly elected to head up the agency. At 50 years old he cut a striking figure; the ex Soviet 4 star general who had defected to America at the end of the Cold War, lending vast amounts of highly sensitive and valuable information to the CIA and the FBI. He had been allowed to join the ranks of the United States Marine Corps. He'd led the Desert Storm invasion of 91, and had come back for round 2 in 2003 with the Iraq invasion under President Bush.

He'd tolerated Obama, mainly because Bush admittedly had fucked things up with the domestic side of things. Obama was young, he was married, and he and his family in the White House painted a sickening picture. But it was exactly what he had needed to work behind the scenes.

He'd left the Marine Corps in 2010, citing that he'd had enough of the military side of things and wanted to work in intelligence. No one doubted his loyalty; he'd proved it time and time again. He wormed his way into the very inner core of the CIA, proving indispensable to the director and chief at the time.

And now here he was, vested with power only second to the leader of the free world himself. The CIA and the FBI were all but non existent. After all, why worry about counterterrorism policy when there were supernatural creatures living side by side with humans? Amazingly, his revelation had some positive impact on the world. Terrorism levels had actually dropped, as each country turned inwards on themselves, focusing heavily on domestic policy and the threat of the supernatural.

With a sigh, he leaned forward and poured himself a glass of bourbon from the bottle sitting on his desk. It had been a gift from the President, a vintage from 1864 when America was in the middle of a civil war. Nothing but the best of course.

His day had seemed to get progressively worse from there. Immediately after his meeting with the President, he had received the news that one of his missions in Pennsylvania had gone awry, claiming the lives of 2 civilians plus a family of four. He had been forced to initiate clean up protocol, which basically involved exploding a gas main and blaming that as the cause instead of his trigger happy agents.

The only good thing to happen in his day so far had been the report given to him by Travis. He liked the young analyst; he'd worked with both him and his father back in his CIA days. Both men were smart and thorough, but the younger seemed to possess a level of brilliance that the elder lacked. He was quickly becoming a valuable asset, and one of the only men that he could trust.

Travis had been the one to put forward the idea of researching into the Petrova line. He cited a tip off from one of his CIA buddies as the roots of the idea and with his approval had immediately began research. He'd kept tabs on the research as Travis had come up with more information, and this was the first time that he'd heard the report in full.

He had been chasing Katerina Petrova for many years now.

His phone rang loudly on his desk, ripping through the silence of his office and disturbing his erratic train of thoughts. With a sigh he leaned forward, pressing the speaker button.

"This is Kruschev." He answered formally, any hint of tiredness or exhaustion banished from his mind. The line crackled.

"It's Sanders. One of my guys says that he has a hit on Katerina Petrova. Last known location was St Petersburg in Russia about 3 hours ago. It was from a camera in a train station. She's getting sloppy."

He pressed 2 fingers to his temples, willing his headache to go away. This could be the moment that he had been waiting for.

"Do it. Bring her in. I want her alive, do you understand me?"

There was a long pause before the other analyst spoke.

"Understood sir. There's a holding cell ready for her already."

"No need. Send her straight to level 6." He replied coldly before disconnecting the call.

With a smile he reached for his glass of bourbon. Maybe things were looking up after all.

_St Petersburg, Russia_

The world had changed into something that even she couldn't recognise. She'd been alive for centuries, and had had to deal with the threat of exposure many a time. But she'd never seen anything on this level.

Russia had all but collapsed. Putin had managed to hold onto the Russian leadership, with many citing that he was the man that they needed to help them deal with the supernatural crisis that had suddenly sprung up. In response, Putin had enacted Martial Law.

The Russian army had been pulled from combat situations all over the world, undergoing extensive training once they had arrived home. Military experiments had begun in an attempt to create a 'super soldier' that would rival the strength and speed of any vampire, hybrid, or werewolf.

The results of the experiment had been alarming. She'd only been in Russia for a fortnight, and she'd already gone toe to toe with two of them. That was two to many for her liking. And they were far too resilient and required too much effort to kill. She missed the days when she could snap a human's neck without blinking, similar to the way a human would shoo away a fly that was bothering them.

With a shiver, Katerina Petrova pulled her coat more tightly around herself and made her way down the abandoned street quickly. She had to keep up human appearances. After all, she was being followed.

They called them quad's. Two of them together were bearable, but with another two as back up they were both unstoppable and infinitely deadly. Armed with weapons that she could only dream of possessing, they were a threat to the existence of even the oldest vampires around. Except the Originals of course.

She hadn't even noticed them at first. She'd rounded a corner and walked for a short distance and suddenly they were there, about fifty or so metres behind her. She could run, but their reflexes were incredible and they would get off a shot before she could even make it two steps. And she had no inclination to experience one of their legendary UV bullets. She'd heard of them, bullets that could cause ten times the pain and damage of wooden bullets, with the added bonus of synthesised UV that would enter the bloodstream and poison your body from the inside out.

Looking around before crossing the road, she pulled out her phone and hit #1 on the speed dial. He answered on the first ring.

"I'm being followed." Was all she murmured into the phone. But it was enough.

"Where are you?"

She spoke quietly into the phone, attempting to convey the message that she was just talking to a friend. The quad continued to tail her.

"I'll send someone. At the next intersection you come across, take a right."

"That will lead me into the alley." She protested weakly.

"I know. Be prepared." The line disconnected with a click, and she slipped the phone into the pocket of her coat.

Taking an unnecessary breath she rolled her shoulders and stepped into the alley. The darkness of winter and the fact that there were no lights meant that it was hard for even her to see. Picking her way carefully over fallen bins and trash she turned to face the opening.

She didn't have to wait long.

The quad approached her warily, pointing their rifles at her, eyes trained on their scopes. The point man shined a torch into her eyes and she winced. Another unnecessary action but it didn't hurt to keep up appearances.

"Is there a problem Sir?" She called across the space between them. He looked at her incredulously.

"Are you Katerina Petrova?"

"Who's asking?" She replied with a wink. The other three men tightened their grips on their guns and stepped forwards.

"We're going to have to ask you to come with us please."

With a flutter of her eyelashes she shifted her weight onto her other foot. Out of the corner of her eye, she had spotted her back up perched on a fire escape above the alley.

"Such manners. It's a real shame though; you won't need them where you're going."

The point man growled taking a step forward. Then his head snapped sideways in a haze of red.

It was to the credit of the quad that they reacted as quickly as they did. But they weren't quick enough. Three shots later and their bodies were strewn at her feet, their blood covering her face.

Wiping the blood off her cheek, she turned to face her rescuer. Alaric Saltzman dropped to the ground gracefully, unfolding his tall form and handing her a cloth. She took it, dabbing at her clothes.

"I'm impressed." She told him grudgingly.

He waved a hand away.

"The other two shots weren't mine. You have him to thank for that." He replied as he disassembled his rifle quickly and packed it into a bag.

She turned and raised an eyebrow at the figure standing before her.

"Jeremy Gilbert. This is a surprise."

**A/N: The plot thickens! I have so many plans for the direction of this story and I can't wait to reveal how all of the characters tie together. Why is Kruschev hunting Katherine? What's the significance of the Petrova line? Who was the person that Katherine rang? And how did Alaric and Jeremy end up in Russia? All will be revealed eventually! Next up we check in on Damon and Elena and find out what happened to a few of our Mystic Falls favourites. Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

_**University of Columbia Frat Party- New York**_

"Come on Elena, drink!"

Caroline all but screamed into her ear as she pushed the shot into her hand. Elena turned to her boyfriend of 5 years pleadingly.

"Don't look at me like that Gilbert; you're the one that dragged me to this frat party." Damon Salvatore replied with a wink as he stole Caroline's shot and tossed it back.

Caroline glared at the older vampire before turning to Elena.

"Remind me again why he's here?"

Damon's eyes widened almost comically.

"Hey I resent that Blondie. I'm the life of these things and you know it." He smirked, pointing towards her face. She slapped his hand away and he put a hand to his chest in mock offence.

He was kind of right she supposed, casting her mind back to the last frat party they had all attended. It had been raucous as expected, but Damon had managed to turn a meaningless frat party into an all out rave that involved strip poker, beer pong, and alpacas. Simply put, it had been epic.

Elena giggled at the memory and tossed back her shot so quickly, Caroline thought that she'd been imagining it.

"That's my girl!" She crowed proudly, pushing another shot into the girl's hand.

They'd come a long way since their Mystic Falls days. Events that had occurred during her senior year had meant that her attendance and final marks had been lackluster to say the least.

But she'd always had a thing for the Big Apple. One compelled admissions officer later and her acceptance to Columbia had been winging its way into her mail box. God she loved being a vampire sometimes.

Of course it hadn't all been sunshine and daisies. Vampires, werewolves, and hybrids had been exposed to the general public and were being hunted. Her bubbly and bright personality had meant that it had been harder for others to discover what she really was. But she had witnessed some pretty brutal things.

Like the time her classmate was shot right in front of her with a disintegrating wooden bullet. She hadn't even known that he was a vampire, she'd only been able to watch in horror as he withered up, praying that she wouldn't be next. Or the time where a man had walked into her Sociology lecture, tossed a vervain grenade into the room, and had walked out. Three people had died that day, none of them vampires.

Both times Damon had insisted on packing up and leaving, but Elena had been adamant in staying and leading a (relatively) normal life. And there was no way that Caroline was leaving Elena by herself. That girl was more trouble than she was worth.

It was times like those that she really missed the Mystic Falls gang.

Damon and Elena had accompanied her to Columbia, Elena amazingly getting in on her own merit. No one had expected that to happen. But then again, no one had expected her to choose Damon over Stefan either. Damon and Elena's relationship wasn't sickening or gooey or anything like that, but it was always there. It was a constant presence in her life and if she didn't love Elena as much as she did she would have kicked her out of their shared apartment years ago for all of the loud and crazy sex that she had to listen to.

Of which there was a lot.

She hadn't heard from Stefan Salvatore for nigh upon 5 years now. In response to Elena's choice, and because of some stupid pre arranged deal with his brother; Stefan had simply upped and left town. He'd bid her a quick farewell and simply melted away into the darkness. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead. Even Damon hadn't heard from Stefan and he was Stefan's _brother._

She and Bonnie had drifted a lot in senior year. It wasn't because of anything particular that happened, but she supposed that Bonnie had had enough of putting herself and her well being on the line for Elena all the time. She really didn't blame her. Elena was the most oblivious person she'd ever met, and the martyr complex was nothing but concerning. The last time she'd spoken to Bonnie, Bonnie had informed her that she was moving to Salem, Massachusetts. It seemed fitting, given her roots.

As far as she knew, Jeremy continued to reside in Denver with his aunt and uncle. He had finished his senior year of high school without any emotional upheavals or threats against his life (there's a surprise), and was taking some time off to decide what he wanted to do before heading off to college.

Matt had been the only one of the gang that had stayed in Mystic Falls. He hadn't had the funds to have a life out of the small town. He'd finished school, but had no plans as of yet to go to college. Last she's heard, he'd taken over the running of the Mystic Grill and was earning quite a bit of money for doing so.

Tyler had disappeared. That was the one that hurt the most. They'd gone through so much together and what they'd had was amazing, but one morning she'd woken up in his bed and he'd been gone. No note, no sign that he'd even been there. The early dawn had claimed him, and she hadn't heard anything from him in years.

And then there had been Klaus. Surprisingly, he'd been her biggest source of support since Tyler's disappearance, despite her constant attempts to push him away. He'd left her as well though, in the end. It was always inevitable with the men in her life. Her dad, Tyler, and now Klaus. Sometimes she swears that she sees him in the peripherals of her vision in all of his leather jacket clad devilish glory. But when she turns, he's gone and she's left wondering if it's just a figment of her imagination after all.

And then there's Elijah. She never quite knows what to make of the oldest Original vampire. He's a complete enigma, never revealing too much of himself at any one time. But one of the strongest memories she has as a vampire is of her first and last conversation with Elijah.

* * *

_**Mystic Falls, 2012**_

_It had been a relatively normal evening for her. She'd just gotten off the phone with Elena, and was in the process of taping up the last of her boxes to take with her to the apartment in New York when she heard the door bell ring. _

_Cocking her head to the side she had grabbed the closest wooden stake and slipped a silver dagger into her left bed sock. It was probably best to be prepared for both situations right? _

_Skipping quietly down the stairs she had spotted the figure through the glass door immediately and shook her head in amusement. Only Elijah would be polite enough to knock on the door like a civilised person would. She hadn't realised that she had frozen at the bottom of the stairs until she had heard him speak. _

"_Open the door please Caroline. It's time you and I had a little chat." His even tone of voice did nothing to quell her nerves, but she padded towards the door and opened it warily. _

_Elijah turned from his spot on the porch and gave her a faint smile. _

"_Good evening Caroline. How about you step outside? It would make the following proceedings much easier."_

_She had curled her grip around the stake tighter, wood cracking loudly._

"_Are you going to kill me?" She whispered. Elijah looked bemused. _

"_I have no quarrel with you Caroline. What I wish to talk to you about concerns Elena." _

_With a frown she had stepped onto the porch, shutting the door behind her. Elijah leaned against the railings, crossing his arms over his chest._

"_Is something wrong? Elena's ok isn't she? She has to be, I just got off the phone with her 10 minutes ago." She spat out rapidly. Elijah held up a hand to silence her. _

"_Elena is fine. But in the coming years her life will be in danger." _

_Caroline blinked._

"_I'm not sure it can get much more dangerous than it already is. Have you seen your brother lately?" she joked. That statement earned her a glare from Elijah and she shrank back against the door. _

"_Recently on the news there were reports of an agency that was signed into law by the President."_

"_The SRA." She had replied quickly, catching the look of surprise that flitted across Elijah's face. _

"_Yes. They might not seem threatening now, but I have reason to believe that the organisation will become very large, and very powerful in the coming years. It's been seen in history dozens of times. Caroline, you have to protect Elena."_

"_Of course I'll protect her. She's my best friend." _

_Elijah stepped closer to her. _

"_No Caroline, you don't understand. This agency will try to hunt her down. You must protect her. Elena needs to stay alive. And she needs to stay human." He pronounced deliberately. _

"_Why?"_

"_Her bloodline is very important. I need to do some more research to understand it, but there is more to Ms Gilbert than meets the eye. But Caroline, I cannot stress how important it is that she remains a human. Do not let them take her."_

_She nodded faintly, overwhelmed by the overload of information that had just been dumped on her. Elijah nodded once to himself; seemingly satisfied that the message had gotten across. Crossing the porch he descended the steps as Caroline turned to go inside. _

"_Oh and Caroline?"_

_She had flinched, turning around to face the ancient Original. His lips curled into a smirk, and for just a second she could see the resemblance between him and Klaus. _

"_If you fail… Perhaps you and I might have a quarrel after all."_

_The threat was subtle but it was there. Let Elena die; and you die as well._

* * *

"Blondie? Blondie!"

She was suddenly jerked back into the present as Damon gripped her shoulders tightly, shaking her.

"Damon what the hell! I'm fine get off me!" she cried, pushing him away from her. It had little to no effect of course, but it did make her feel better.

"No Blondie it's not that. The fun police are here." He murmured urgently in her ear, just before the door burst in. In a flash, he had disappeared.

The fun police was a code between her and Damon. To an outsider listening in, it was something that could be worked into almost any conversation without raising suspicion.

But to Caroline and Damon the fun police meant something else entirely. The fun police meant _the SRA._

"Time to go Elena!" Caroline yelled, grabbing her friend's wrist and pulling her out the closest exit. She and Damon had had a drill worked out for this years ago should this ever occur. As much as it killed him to admit it, Damon knew that Caroline would protect Elena until her last breath. He just hoped it would never have to come to that.

"What? Caroline where are we going?" Elena babbled utterly and completely confused. "Where's Damon?" she added, looking around in a panic.

She ignored the protestations of the human girl, continuing to tow her down the path and out into the busy Manhattan street. She let herself breathe a little easier as she plunged into the crowd of people with a resistant Elena.

"Caroline Forbes I am not going anywhere until you tell me where my boyfriend is. What the hell was that back there?" Elena yelled, digging her feet into the ground and yanking her arm out of Caroline's grip.

With a growl, she rounded on Elena in a temper. She would not be killed by Elijah over Elena's stubbornness to follow even the simplest instructions.

"Damon's coming with the car. Keep walking Elena." She hissed, causing Elena's eyes to widen.

"Did you just hiss at me?" She replied, horrified. With a roll of her eyes, she grabbed her friend by the arm and frog marched her along the street, getting swept away with the crowd. Elena continued to struggle against her and she dug her nails into the human girl's arm.

"If you don't keep moving Elena, it will be both of our lives on the line. I'm being serious. Just keep walking. Damon will be here soon, I promise." She bit out, looking around for the familiar blue of Damon's car.

As if on cue, a black SUV screeched to a halt in front of them. Damon poked his head out the window and Elena scrambled towards the passenger seat. She glanced around once more before climbing into the back.

"What happened to your Camaro babe?" Elena queried with a confused look on her face.

Damon's eyes met hers through the rear view mirror.

"Too conspicuous. They were watching my car as well."

"Were you followed?" She questioned Damon urgently, scanning the streets outside the window.

"Don't think so. Most of their force was centred on the raid back at the frat party. We're going to have to move fast though. We can't stay here."

She nodded in agreement as Elena's head turned back and forth, following their conversation.

"Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

* * *

**A/N: I miss badass Elijah! He was the one that everyone was scared of, and he wasn't afraid of kicking ass and taking names… even if that involved knocking people's heads off and ripping their hearts out. Long story short, I loved the idea of Elijah subtly threatening Caroline and basically saying that he'd kill her if she failed. **

**Also I really didn't mean for Caroline to be so humorous, but it was really just how she came out. This is meant to be quite a dark story which we'll get into later, but she's just raining on my parade haha. **

**To all the American's reading this, my thoughts go out to those who have been affected by Sandy. Hope you guys are all ok!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Unknown Location in New York**_

They had been driving for hours now. Despite Elena's protests to inform her of exactly what was happening, through some unspoken agreement she and Damon both chose to keep silent. That only served to infuriate Elena more, who threatened to open the door and commando roll out of the car. That was the reason why she was now wrapped up in what was effectively a straitjacket, (Damon had volunteered his leather jacket for the cause).

Once they were sure that they weren't being tailed by any SRA agents they had slowly made their way out of Manhattan and across the bridge. Passing through Suburbia they had swapped cars quickly, abandoning the SUV in a driveway and swapping it for a Range Rover. The owners should be grateful; it was a trade up anyway.

After disposing of the number plates into a bush on the side of the road, she was sure that they were in the middle of nowhere. She didn't even know where they were supposed to go; she and Damon hadn't got that far in their planning. It was something she regretted now. Even if she didn't understand the significance, she knew that she had to keep Elena safe, and she supposed that their best bet was to probably find Elijah.

She had no idea how to even go about doing that. And as Damon had gleefully informed her once Elena had fallen asleep; you didn't go and find Original vampires… The Original vampires would find you instead.

Because that just made their current situation so much better.

She glanced over at Damon, who rubbed his eyes with his fist and yawned. He glanced back at Elena, who was now sleeping peacefully, head resting against the window.

"Do you want to swap? I can drive for awhile." she murmured softly so she wouldn't disturb Elena.

Stubbornly, Damon shook his head.

"I'm fine Blondie. I'm older than you, which equals more endurance." He replied with a wink.

"For god's sake Damon, not everything has to be a pissing contest. Stop the car now." she hissed back at him. He glared at her.

"I said I'm fine."

"Damon. Stop the car. You are tired and grumpy, and I will not have my undead life cut short because you are too tired to drive the damn car. Stop the car."

Damon rolled his eyes but acquiesced, swerving the car over to the gravel shoulder and bringing it to a halt. Both of them heard Elena stir from her sleep.

"Why are we stopped guys? Is everything ok?" Elena mumbled tiredly, a frown creasing her brow. Damon shot her a reassuring smile.

"Everything's fine. We're just swapping drivers and then we'll be on the road again. Go back to sleep babe, we'll wake you up when we get there." He said soothingly.

She got out of the car, flashing around to the driver's side and waiting expectantly for Damon. He glanced at her in amusement as he unbuckled the seatbelt, sliding out of the seat and motioning for her to hop in.

She waited till Damon was settled in the passenger seat before pressing her foot down on the accelerator and sending them hurtling off into the darkness once more.

"So where are we going anyway?" Elena's voice piped up from the backseat. She exchanged a glance with Damon. She obviously was not going back to sleep anytime soon.

"We're still trying to figure it out Elena. But I promise you'll be the first to know once we do!" Caroline met the other girl's eyes in the rear view mirror, attempting to boost the mood by flashing a quick grin. It didn't work.

"Why are you keeping secrets from me? I meant it when I said I want to know what's going on! Why did we have to leave New York? Where are you taking me! And why were you so worried about being followed?"

Damon sighed.

"We can't tell you that. Not yet anyway."

"Damon I got used to you and Stefan keeping stuff from me back in Mystic Falls. But I never expected it from Caroline as well."

"Elena I'm sorry. But I promise it's for your own safety." She replied with a grimace. That excuse sounded pathetic even to her.

"You know that's what everyone always says to me. But somehow it never is." Elena crossed her arms over her chest and glared out the window.

"Well you do have a bit of a martyr complex. Can you really blame us?" Damon quipped.

She glared at him.

"Not helping."

"Don't care Blondie."

She sighed again, turning to Elena in the backseat.

"Look, I know that you're scared and confused, but I promise that once we get somewhere safe I'll tell you what I know. But it isn't much." She finished warningly.

Elena finally graced her with a warm smile.

"That's all I'm asking for…." She stared in confusion as a look of horror passed across Elena's face.

"Caroline look out!" Damon yelled, grabbing her by the arm.

Things seemed to move almost in slow motion. She whipped her head around, seeing the man standing on the road directly in the path of their car. Slamming on the brakes, she tried in vain to swerve and avoid the stranger.

It didn't do any good. She could only hold on as they hit the man and her world turned upside down.

* * *

**_SRA Headquarters, Unknown Location_**

Dimitri Kruschev stared impassively at the man before him. The agent was dishevelled, blood running down the side of his face and his clothes dirty and torn.

Two hybrids stood behind the agent, ready to react to any situation that should arise.

"Please Kruschev. Don't do this." The agent pleaded, banging his bloody hands against the glass that separated them. "I've been there from the beginning! I helped to form this organisation." He screamed, continuing to bang against the glass. "We were friends!"

"And you've served me well Coulson. Nobody can doubt your loyalty to this organisation. But your usefulness reached its end the moment you failed to apprehend Katerina Petrova in St Petersburg." He replied with a sneer.

"She had back up! There were 2 of them with her; the quad didn't stand a chance!"

"They were human!" He roared, pounding his fist against the glass. Coulson flinched back, fear evident in his eyes.

"One of the five was there! I swear on my life, you have to believe me!" he cried, banging on the glass again.

For just a second he paused. _One of the five? Interesting. _But he was aware of how many people were watching. An effective leader was one who managed to instil fear in even the highest ranked members of his organisation.

"Irrelevant." He replied, clasping his hands behind his back. "You knew what would happen should you fail in this task."

"Kruschev, please. I'm begging you." Coulson pleaded once more.

He nodded to the two hybrids that were standing behind Coulson.

"Kill him. But make it slow. Make it painful. I don't care how long it takes; just make sure that he dies for this."

And with that parting remark, Dimitri Kruschev turned and walked from the room, blocking out the anguished screams of one of his oldest friends.

One of his aides fell into step beside him with a respectful nod.

"Is there anything I can do for you Mr Kruschev?"

"Pull Sanders from the Original hunt. I want him focused on finding Katerina Petrova. Tell Lucas that I need that report on the Pennsylvania mission on my desk by 4pm."

The aide scribbled down his instructions onto a yellowed notepad with another nod.

"Certainly sir. Anything else?"

He turned to the younger girl who gazed back at him warily.

"Call her in. And tell her that it's important."

* * *

**_Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy_**

She'd been here before.

It had been the height of the Renaissance where wine flowed freely and art and music were amongst the most highly cultivated by the Medici family. She had watched Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and had been friends with Botticelli.

Life had been good back then. With the look of a wide eyed innocent, it had been more than easy to get by in any place that she chose to settle in. She and Kol had been welcomed immediately into the fold of Rome's elite.

They had made a great pair. She, the blonde haired, blue eyed beauty, and Kol with his devilish charm and classic good looks.

How things had changed.

With a sigh, Rebekah Mikaelson looked out over a modern Rome. She could still see some familiar landmarks; the Colosseum, the Palazzo Senatorio, and even the building that housed the Sistine Chapel. She'd heard that the Pope had his own country now, and even she had thought it ridiculous.

But amongst the familiar there was also the unfamiliar. She missed the time when motor cars were few and far between, and the main form of transportation was horse and carriage. The world was much quieter, the people more refined and polite.

Now, everything seemed so… complicated. Rome had changed into even something she no longer recognised. Measures were... harsh. A strict curfew was imposed on the citizenry, and the armed forces patrolled the street after dark. She'd heard rumors of 'super soldiers' but had yet to see any evidence of that.

She'd had a few brushes with the authority, but it hadn't been enough to arouse suspicion and bring them down on her.

She missed Kol, she decided then and there. He had always gone where she had, even though they had fought more than they actually were civilised to each other. Kol was her twin in every way, the yin to her yang, her other half.

And now he was gone. She hadn't seen, or heard from him for over 5 years now.

It hurt more than she thought it would.

The task she had been given was easy enough. Go to Rome, find The Five, and protect them. That had been 5 years ago. Who were The Five?

The Five were a vampire's worse nightmare. Or they used to be. They had been dangerous vampire hunters, incredibly effective in their methods and resilient in their persistence. They were the closest thing the human race had to supernatural creatures, without them actually being vampire's themselves. It seemed incredible that all it took for The Five to swap sides in this war was the promise of protection, and plenty of money. She was the protection, and her family was not by any means short of money.

Apparently the saying "Money makes the world go around" really is true.

Now The Five were aiding the vampire's in the war against the werewolves, and helping them to avoid suspicion by the authorities in Rome, who would be more than happy to detain and exterminate their kind.

But when she had arrived in Rome, she had discovered that one of The Five was missing. Or more accurately, one of The Five had been killed. Down a member and down on power, The Five were falling apart in front of her very eyes. While it couldn't be denied that The Five had the potential to be very powerful allies, without a fifth member they were all but useless.

Until she found out the name of the deceased member.

Reflecting back on it now, she was worried that it had been too easy. If one of The Five died, the theory was that their closest living descendant would take their place. That way The Five would always be active, and their power would remain. The Five were tasked with the continuance of their bloodlines. If one died out, the entire order became obsolete.

So when she found out that Jeremy Gilbert was the next man destined to join The Five, she hadn't believed them at first. In fact, she still found it hard to believe.

* * *

**A/N: Bit of a cliff hanger sorry! But you guys find out a few things in this chapter…**

**We will explore more of Jeremy's story later!**

**So I leave you with a few questions… Who was the man that Damon and Caroline hit with their car? Is Kruschev being a convincing Big Bad so far? What does he want with Katherine? And who is the mysterious "She" that he is calling in? And most importantly… where in the world is Kol? I want to hear your theories, so leave me a review? ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

_**The Appalachians...**_

With a soft groan, Caroline Forbes pressed her cheek against the cool metal of the bar and forced her eyes open. She felt exhausted, like she'd just ran a marathon and everything had turned to jelly.

Then she made a move to sit up and the pain ripped through her body.

_Vervain. They must have injected me with vervain. _

The events of the previous few hours were pretty damn hazy at best. The car flipping, the shattering and crunching of glass as the metal of the car folded in on itself. The man popping his limbs back into place, ripping her and Damon from the vehicle and putting black bags over their heads. Hearing Elena's screams as she and Damon were bundled into the back of a van.

_Oh god Elena. Where was Elena?_

And now she was here, lying on a stone floor in a cell with her hands bound tightly together.

Gathering all her strength she rolled herself over, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The lighting was dim at best, but she could make out a shape in the cell opposite her. _Damon_. In that moment, he looked just as bad as she felt.

"Damon." She croaked, dragging her body towards the bars. "Damon you ok?"

A grunt was all she got in reply. Better than nothing, she supposed.

"Damon we've got to get out of here. Can you move?" she whispered furiously.

He didn't have time to answer. A clang sounded from above her as a door opened and closed and footsteps sounded on the stairs.

A different man appeared in front of her cell and opened the door.

"Come with me. Bring the male as well." He called over his shoulder to his companion.

She whimpered as he grabbed her by the arm, yanking her roughly to her feet and forcing her to walk with him.

"If you even think about trying anything stupid I'll stake you before you can even move." The man growled, his breath hot against the side of her neck. She tried not to flinch away in disgust. Even the smallest movements caused her pain.

He wasn't gentle with her, dirty nails digging into her arm and drawing blood as he dragged her back up the stairs. She winced, both at the pain and at the thought of where those nails had been previously.

It was dark outside, meaning that she had been out for more than a few hours. Silently, she berated herself as she stumbled along the floor of the forest, still wincing at the pain that continued through her body in waves.

She tried in vain to look around for Damon, only to be shoved roughly forward once again. Her head felt clouded, like she'd just slept for 12 hours and she was trying to break the barrier between semi consciousness and that alert state where clarity awaited.

Although technically that was kind of what had happened.

With a final shove from her handler she fell heavily to her knees in the middle of the circular space. It reminded her of a colosseum, like the one in Ancient Rome that she'd only ever seen pictures of. It was just one more thing to add to the list of things that she would never get to do.

The only lighting provided came from hundreds of torches that were lit and flickering, the flames casting strange, twisting shadows over the structure. The whole place creeped her out.

Dozens of men and women all stared at her from where they were standing or seated on the stone structure, and at the back of her mind she kind of wondered what the point of building such a structure in the middle of the forest was for.

They all had a savage look about them, as if they hadn't witnessed civilisation for many a month now. It was something that she had come to recognise.

_Werewolves._

But there was one exception. He was tall and lean, dressed impeccably in dark jeans and a dark button up shirt, his brown hair styled deliberately in such a way that it looked effortless. And with a jolt of recognition, she realised that she knew him. She hadn't seen him for five years now, but she knew exactly who he was, right down to the smirk that was currently plastered across his face.

So understandably, Caroline could only gape in confusion as Kol Mikaelson unfolded his tall form from the stone bench he was sitting on, before descending the stairs and coming to stand before them, hands clasped tightly behind his back.

"Caroline Forbes and Damon Salvatore. Well this certainly is unexpected."

* * *

**_St Petersburg, Russia_**

They didn't hang around for long after their brush with the Russian quad. Alaric had led the way, plunging into the darkness further into the alley and emerging onto a somewhat busier street with more people.

Jeremy had positioned himself between the street and her body, eyes constantly scanning the road and the buildings, alert for any danger. He tried not to show how freaked out he was that he was essentially protecting a ruthless vampire that shared the face of his sister. A vampire that had caused nothing but trouble for both him, his sister, and their friends in the past.

But orders were orders. When he and Alaric had received the call, he'd had no choice but to obey. That didn't mean that he had to be enthusiastic about the idea.

He hadn't even meant to be caught up in all this. But unwittingly, he'd been involved right from the very start. His only friend in Denver had turned out to be a vampire. And not just any vampire, but a mother fucking Original.

Kol Mikaelson had been an enigma from the start, and Jeremy still couldn't believe that he hadn't seen the signs earlier… The aversion of all modes of transportation, his obvious confusion when it came to navigating his iPhone, and certain cadences and phrases that could only have come from a previous era.

So when Kol had started to bash in Damon Salvatore's knee caps with an aluminium baseball bat, he could only watch on in horror and shock before disappointment ultimately won out.

He was always losing the people closest to him.

He'd tried to live his life normally in Denver. At first he'd relished in it, the sheer normality of it all. He'd gone to classes, dated pretty girls, hung out with Kol on the weekends. It reminded him of a time of when he was actually happy. Before his parents had died, before he'd found out that his sister was actually his cousin.

And before the Salvatore brothers had arrived in town.

But then he'd found out Kol's identity, and things just weren't the same anymore. They had been inseparable, the best of friends. And now… his life had gone back to lacking purpose. Listlessly, he'd finished his senior year, graduated as valedictorian of his class, and had applied aimlessly for any college that would take him.

He'd never had a definite direction to head in. He still didn't know what to do with his life.

So when Elijah had turned up in Denver, undoing compulsion (he hadn't even known) and offering him an out, he'd taken it, perhaps fully not realising what it would entail.

He thought he'd known everything there was to know about his family. But it seemed even Elijah knew more than he did.

So when he'd been handed a plane ticket to Rome, he'd taken it.

The Five had welcomed him with open arms.

"Jeremy!" With a blink he pulled himself back into the present, gazing back at his old history teacher with a raised eyebrow.

To his right, Katherine cocked her head to the side, hand still gripping his upper arm from where she had pulled him back from the kerb just as a taxi had gone speeding past. Internally, he acknowledged that the fierce vampire had probably just saved his life.

Externally, he yanked his arm from her grip with a scowl, turning his back on her.

"What is it Alaric?"

"We're about to cross the Square. Have you noticed anyone following us?"

Truthfully, he hadn't really been paying attention, but he had a quick glance around for good measure.

Alaric sighed wearily before turning to the vampire that was watching them both with interest. He still detested Katherine with every bone in his body, but she had got them out of a fair few scrapes and he owed her as much as he hated to admit it.

"Katherine?"

"I haven't noticed anyone, we should be fine." She replied with a nonchalant shrug.

He mentally slapped himself for being so unobservant. In this time and city, it was something that he couldn't afford. Not if he wanted to live past the age of 20.

The Winter Palace of St Petersburg loomed before them as they exchanged one more glance before joining the crowds of people crossing the square. Falling into disrepair and closed to the public, the once beautiful palace was merely a shell of what it once had been.

Of course, that didn't stop Alaric from unlocking a side door out of sight of the square and waving the others through it. Passing through a dark corridor they finally emerged into the spacious foyer.

Even though his days of being an artist were long since passed, he could still appreciate something beautiful when he saw it. The moonlight filtering in through the glass windows cast an eerie gloom about the room, but he still found it hard to believe that people actually used to live like this.

Shouldering the bag that held his rifle in pieces, he spared one last glance around the foyer before following Alaric and Katherine up the stairs, both of whom were directing their footsteps towards the adjacent drawing room.

He could see why. Someone had lit a fire, and he relished the thought of shrugging out of his heavy jacket and curling up in front of it, preferably with a nice blanket and some brandy.

He and Alaric had been living in the palace for awhile now. They usually kept to the one room, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that someone was living there should the authorities do a random sweep. But the Winter Palace went mostly ignored by the Russian population. If there was one thing he loved about the Russians, they were never short on some good, top notch alcohol.

He halted though, realising that someone had beaten him to his favourite worn out chair. It was someone that he hadn't seen in quite some time.

Backlit by the flames and deep in thought, Elijah Mikaelson looked every inch the harbinger of death that he undoubtedly was. Catching sight of their odd trio, his lips quirked into a smile.

"Katerina. Good to see you heeded my instructions. I take it the alley way proved to be most useful?" his voice was soft, but still managed to convey every word.

Katherine nodded in reply, a ghost of a smile on her lips at the sound of her real name.

He exchanged a glance with Alaric as Elijah motioned for them to join him. He turned his calm gaze on Jeremy, speaking directly to him this time.

"Please, take a seat. I've just received a phone call from Kol. It seems that your sister is in a bit of trouble."

* * *

**_SRA headquarters, Unknown Location_**

He was getting impatient. No one had openly refused an order from him before, but he knew that he couldn't push her. She was probably the only one that could kill him after all. But it had been _days _since he'd given the order for her to be called in.

She'd been useful to him from the start. Young, resourceful, and incredibly intelligent, she'd been his foremost authority on the characteristics and behavioural patterns of vampires (and at times werewolves).

Of course, he'd had to check that she wasn't one of _them. _

The only reason that he knew so much about vampires was because of the information that she had fed to him. Information that had proved to be not only very useful, but also incredibly accurate.

Needless to say, their extermination program for the vampires had been an all round success. The President had been ecstatic, and he'd put her on the pay roll in a consultancy position, paying her an obscene amount of money to come in once every few months and update him on anything new that she'd found.

She'd had a few enforcement jobs as well. When the President had become concerned over the amount of casualties that the SRA had had, he'd sent her out with a quad to take down any vampire that they'd come across.

She'd proven exceptional at that as well.

He'd wondered what her motivations had been for joining the SRA, seeing a very visible hint of bitterness in the way she talked and acted around her colleagues.

But he'd pushed those thoughts aside. As long as she was on his side, that was all that mattered. He may not trust her entirely, but he was still grateful for her presence.

A soft tap on the door interrupted his train of thoughts and he turned his gaze to the aide who had poked her head around the gap.

"Sorry to interrupt Sir. She's here to see you."

About bloody time. He stood, buttoning his jacket.

"Send her in."

Seconds later, Bonnie Bennett strode into the place like she owned it, before dumping her bag and crossing her arms defensively over her chest. She met his gaze evenly, arching her eyebrow.

"You wanted to see me?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry guys, i have a thing for cliff hangers! We're getting to the point where things are starting to all tie together now. You should see the mind map i have in my room haha. **

**A massive thank you to all who have viewed, favorited or followed this story... This is my first try at writing a multi chapter story, and it means alot that you guys are digging my writing. But you guys are killing me with the reviews! I want to know what YOU think. What are you loving? What are you hating? What do you want to see? What theories do you have about the direction of this story? I welcome constructive criticism as well ;)  
**

**I'm in the middle of uni exams at the moment, but i'm drafting out another chapter for you guys as a form of procrastination. It might take a few days to go up though, but rest assured by this time next week there will be a new one!  
**

**As a parting note... Who else loved the flashback episode? Team Originals for the win!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Kol Mikaelson gazed impassively at the two vampires sprawled out before him. He knew them both. The blonde one, Caroline Forbes was the current object of his brother's affection. Klaus had been following her around when he could, making sure that she avoided detection and extermination. It was almost pathetic really.

He knew who Damon Salvatore was as well. They'd been friends a long time ago, back when he'd been wreaking havoc on the city of New Orleans. Those had been glorious times. But people had begun to question why he still remained so young. So he had had to compel Damon to forget him, forget their friendship, and move on. He could swear that sometimes Damon remembered their time together though, if the odd look in his eyes whenever he saw Kol was anything to go by.

He hadn't chosen to be Elijah's envoy to the werewolves. He'd actually been rather surprised when he'd been approached about it. In fact he still remembered the conversation well.

* * *

**_Chicago, 2012_**

He'd left Mystic Falls shortly after there had been another attempt on his life. He had had too many brushes with death in that small town. He'd never been big on family, choosing to separate himself from the proceedings whenever things had gotten too out of hand.

Elijah had found him in Gloria's, staring into the bottom of his glass of Jim Beam bourbon. He had known who it was without even a glance.

"_Brother. I would say good to see you, but that would be a lie. And mother always said that lying was wrong." He'd stated with a sneer, turning his gaze on his older brother._

_Elijah just blinked back at him, not even fazed by the fact that he so clearly wanted him gone. _

"_Let's just skip the pleasantries shall we Kol? I can't say that I'm particularly happy to see you either." _

_That was also true. Out of all of his siblings, Elijah was perhaps the one that he disliked the most. The sense of honour and duty and responsibility was sickening at times. He could understand where he was coming from, but he was always out to ruin the fun. _

_Tipping his head back, he had downed the rest of his drink before turning to his brother. _

"_Well then brother, what outlandish request do you have for me this time? Stop feeding on humans? Move on from Chicago? Come back to Mystic Falls?"_

_Elijah had folded his hands in his lap. _

"_How about we take a walk Kol? What I have to discuss with you is of a… delicate nature."_

_He still wasn't sure why he had gotten up and followed Elijah that night. Perhaps it was the strange look on his face. He had later realised that he had never seen Elijah look so troubled. _

_Once in a deserted street, Elijah had turned to him and calmly informed him of the growing danger of the SRA. He had warned him of the possible outbreak of war between vampires and werewolves, and of the significance that Elena Gilbert may have in the coming years. _

_He had been floored by Elijah's theory about the doppelgangers bloodline, but had to admit that it made sense. Then Elijah had asked him to do something for him._

"_You want me to be an ambassador to the werewolves? Have you lost your mind? Why not send Klaus?"_

"_The werewolves are not happy with Klaus at the moment. News of his massacre of the Appalachian pack has spread across their kind. I already have another task in mind for Rebekah, and you have always been rather charismatic Kol. I think you'll be good for the job."_

"_You're sending me on a suicide mission. You realise this Elijah?" _

"_I'm hoping that this will prevent the outbreak of war between our two species. Go to the Appalachians; gain the trust of the werewolves. We may even be allies in the coming years against the SRA."_

"_And why should I help you? Why should I help any of you? The doppelganger is better off dead, you know this as well as I do!" he had finally lost his temper, yelling at his older brother. _

_Levelling a calm gaze at him, Elijah's reply had been simple._

"_Because like it or not Kol, we are a family. And families protect each other, through the good times and the bad. If what I fear comes to pass, soon you might not have any family left."_

* * *

"Kol? What the hell are you doing here?" Caroline Forbes was still gaping at him and he shot her a quick grin.

"I could ask you the same question. Aren't you meant to be in New York?"

"We were exposed." Damon interrupted, struggling to his feet. "SRA. They found out our location. We think they were after Elena."

Kol raised an eyebrow at him before glancing around at the werewolves.

"And where has our lovely doppelganger disappeared to? Can someone go and bring her here please?" he voiced to the crowd rather pleasantly.

He was satisfied when two werewolves melted away into the darkness.

They returned a short while later with Elena, who looked bruised and beaten. Anger ripped through him as she was shoved roughly to the ground. She looked up at him pleadingly, eyes widening as she recognised him.

"Kol?" She whispered through cracked lips. She flinched back as he blurred over to her, crouching in front of her and helping her up.

"Who hurt you darling?"

She motioned somewhat fearfully to the two werewolves that had brought her to him.

Not seconds later, their bodies crumpled at his feet, their hearts clutched in his hands.

"Let this be a warning to all of you. The doppelganger remains unharmed." He said coolly, tossing the hearts carelessly over his shoulder.

A collective growl sounded from around their small group and a woman with wild brown hair stepped forward.

"We are not yours to command vampire." She spat.

He grinned at her.

"Hayley darling, remember that it was your boyfriend who left me in charge. Werewolf." He replied arrogantly.

As one, the men and women took a step towards him, and slowly Damon got to his feet and stood beside him.

"Think we can take them?"

"Not a chance." He replied, taking note of his surroundings. He had worried that something like this might happen.

His salvation came in the form of the Alpha returning. Finally.

"Enough!" The voice carried around the space, causing the werewolves around him to fall back to their previous positions.

As one, they turned towards the man standing at the edge of the clearing, as Caroline let out a gasp.

"Tyler?"

Tyler Lockwood ignored her, instead choosing to level his glare at Kol.

"Kol, what the hell is going on?"

* * *

_**SRA Headquarters, Unknown Location**_

"_You wanted to see me?"_

Crossing her arms over her chest, she levelled a stern gaze at former 4 Star General Dimitri Kruschev.

He returned her glare.

"It took you long enough to come in."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not yours to command Kruschev. I work alone."

She watched him warily as he sank back into his chair, tilting it backwards and gazing at her thoughtfully. She may have been more than capable of defending herself, but he still remained a very dangerous man with resources and weaponry that she could only dream of.

If he wanted her dead, she'd be dead. Quickly.

"And no one doubts the contributions that you've made. A great amount of what we know about the vampires and the werewolves have come from you." He graciously conceded with a nod of his head.

She'd stumbled on the SRA entirely by accident. A friend of hers had introduced her to Kruschev, and he'd immediately identified her for what she was.

After all, witches were hard to come by these days.

She'd managed to stay on the good side of the head of the organisation, something that she thanked her lucky stars for every time she was called in. She didn't want to think about the day when he decided that her usefulness had run its course.

She'd heard what happened to Coulson when he failed to apprehend Katherine in St Petersburg, and he had been one of Kruschev's oldest friends. He'd helped found the bloody organisation for god sakes. And rumour has it that Kruschev hadn't even displayed any emotion when he'd ordered the death of Coulson.

The man was cold.

For her, she thinks her breaking point came in her senior year. The Salvatore's were still battling it out with Klaus, exhausting every possible means to find ways to kill him, not afraid of throwing innocent people in the way of Klaus if it distracted him enough to give them more time.

Bonnie had expressed her distaste for the actions of the Salvatore's, and Elena had grown angry at her constant criticism, stating that the Salvatore Brother's had saved Bonnie's life more times than she could count, and that she'd better start contributing to their plans if she cared for her wellbeing in the future.

Bonnie hadn't said anything to Elena in reply, instead choosing to ignore everything that was wrong with that statement, and had simply cut her and the Salvatore brother's out of her life, finishing up her senior year and moving as soon as she graduated. She'd had family in Salem, and she fit in well with the small community of witches who practiced magic discreetly. She'd tried her hand at college, but couldn't really find anything that she was really passionate about.

The SRA had been a perfect out for her. Her hatred for the Salvatore Brothers had been transferred to a hatred of ALL vampires. She recognised that her behaviour wasn't exactly morally grounded, but she couldn't deny the rush she got when she helped take down a particularly troublesome vampire.

But Stefan and Damon proved to be particularly elusive. And she wasn't going to rest until she found them both and staked them herself. But they were clever. They'd obviously gotten hold of a witch who had no doubt placed a powerful ward around them that prevented her from tracking their location.

Pulling herself back to the present, she shook her head, attempting to order her thoughts into something logical.

"If you came here to remind me of the contributions that I've made to this agency, then this is a waste of both of our time." She replied taking a seat on one of the leather chairs in front of his mahogany desk.

As always she took the time to look around his office, noting that it was as impersonal as ever. A large monitor took up most of his desk space, which he used to communicate with high ups in the White House and even the President when he didn't have time to travel to Washington.

Bookshelves full of various volumes lined the walls, ranging from such topics as international law to counter terrorism to military strategy and intervention tactics. She noted bitterly the title of the volume currently sitting on his desk 'Genocide: A Dark History.'

She frowned as she leaned forward, catching sight of a small photo frame tucked away behind the monitor, almost as if Kruschev had forgotten that it was there. Pulling it from its position on the desk, she flipped it over looking at the photograph.

He just watched her as she stared at the photo of a much younger Kruschev, his arms around a pretty blonde woman, who was holding a small boy in her arms.

"Your family?" She said incredulously. The thought that Kruschev might have had a family never even crossed her mind. She had thought him incapable of love. But studying this younger version of the man in front of her, she concluded that he actually looked... happy.

"Katya and Jamie." He replied promptly, a fond smile showing briefly on his face before he rearranged his features to reflect the stern man she was familiar with.

There was a long pause where she placed the photograph back on the desk.

"I need you to do a locator spell." He blurted suddenly, and she stared at him as she heard the urgency in his voice.

"Who am I locating?"

He leaned forward, hands clasped together in front of him.

"I need you to locate a vampire by the name of Katerina Petrova."

Wait. Was he talking about?

"You mean Katherine Pierce?" she supplied helpfully. He waved a hand dismissively.

"I don't care what name she goes by. I just want her found and soon."

"But why? Katherine isn't a priority for us. You know that our goal is to find the Originals and the Salvatore's. They're our biggest threats at the moment."

"I don't care about your personal vendetta's!" He snapped, anger showing in his face. With a deep breath he continued, pinching the bridge of my nose. "She's a priority for me. After all, she did kill my wife and son."

* * *

**A/N: So what do you think of Kol and Bonnie in this story? Are you surprised? And we finally find out why Kruschev wants to find Katherine so much! Let me just say that all is not what it seems in that situation though :)**

**I'm not going to lie guys, i've been feeling a little bit demotivated lately. Usually I'd put it down to exam and work stress, but i actually struggled to write this chapter quite a bit. I want to thank Diehardromantic for being my first and so far only reviewer. Considering the amount of favorites, views and follows i have on this story, (which is totally awesome, and thankyou to all of you btw!) i'm honestly a bit disappointed.  
**

**Feedback is a writer's greatest motivational tool, and it only takes 30 seconds to click the button and tell me what you think! Please don't hate me for this, i think it needed to be said.  
**

**I'm not going to be one of those author's that withold chapters until they get a certain number of reviews. I'm going to keep writing this story, even if it is heading in a completley different direction to what i intended it to be! I'm really enjoying slowly but surely weaving all the characters together into one plot, and i'm hoping i can keep you guys interested with some crazy twists and turns!  
**

**In the meantime between chapters, go check out my two one shots: Dulce et Decorum est (Stefan centric) and Heaven for the Climate, Hell for the Company (Damon/Kol centric). There's a sneaky reference to the latter one in Kol's part of the story! Both will eventually be part of the universe that is Darkest Before the Dawn once the story gains more momentum.  
**

**Also i've been dropping a lot of hints and foreshadowing of the direction of the story... i'm keen to see if you guys have picked anything up?  
**

**As always, thanks for reading, and enjoy!  
**

**- Katie  
**


	7. Chapter 7

With a sigh, Klaus Mikaelson tipped the bottle of bourbon he was drinking upside down into his glass, shaking it to get the last few drops out.

The bottle was his last one, and he had no idea when he'd be able to procure more. He really didn't want to have to resort to chain smoking as a way to combat boredom, but it was looking like a distinct possibility.

He was bored and purposeless. And he did not do bored and purposeless.

It was all Elijah's fault of course. It had been odd to see his usually unflappable older brother look worried for the first time in _forever._

So of course he had scoffed. He would have killed Elena in an instant if she wasn't so entertaining. The constant drama surrounding her life was a constant source of fascination for him. Her entanglement with both Salvatore Brothers. Her doppelganger qualities. The fixation that his older brother had with her, as odd as it was.

So of course he was pissed when Elijah mentioned in passing that she would be important in the upcoming years. The one person he would love to kill, and she was off limits.

Like he had anything to worry about when it came to the SRA. They were a bunch of wannabe vampire hunters who couldn't even hope to touch him. They might have been a government organisation, but he was untouchable. He was a hybrid after all.

Oh how wrong he'd been.

He'd been number one on their watch list ever since their formation and he'd been hunted ever since. To say that he was pissed off about that would be the understatement of the century. Once he found out who had fed the information about him, they would be dying a slow and painful death. Even Elijah would not stop him.

So or course Elijah had given him the most boring job of all. While Rebekah was living it up in Rome with the Five, and Kol was slumming it with the werewolves in the Appalachians, he was instructed to stay put.

Lie low they'd said. Don't draw attention to yourself they'd said.

While normally he wouldn't have a problem with defying his brother's instructions, the constant feeling of being watched and having wooden bullets shot into his kneecaps was becoming kind of tiring. The agents they'd sent after him weren't exactly a threat, just a constant and incessant annoyance.

He could just kill them of course, but then he'd be drawing attention to himself.

Elijah really was no fun.

And of course the main reason why he had such a problem with lying low could all be boiled down to one thing. Or one person really.

Caroline Forbes.

He was amazed at himself sometimes. That he could still carry a torch for the baby vampire after such a long time. No one had managed to hold his interest for so long, and he had Rebekah for a sister.

It really said something for her character. But then again she was absolutely beautiful.

Kol had just sneered at him, calling him pathetic when he'd abandoned his hideout in the Appalachian ranges to go and see her in New York. The tiny wooden cabin was making him claustrophobic. And he was never claustrophobic.

Of course he wouldn't actually talk to her, but he could always watch from a distance. Reports of a heavier SRA presence had started to come out of Manhattan, and he wanted to make sure that she was safe. That was it.

He thinks that she saw him once, if only for a second. He had watched from the shadows as she had stared hard at the spot that he had previously been standing in, before shaking her head and disappearing into the lecture theatre.

It amused him that out of all the things that she chose to do when she left Mystic Falls; it was to enrol in university. She still had a lot to learn.

Downing the rest of his drink, he pulled out a cigarette from the pocket of his leather jacket. Tipping his chair back and placing his boot clad feet on the table, he lit up and exhaled, blowing smoke out into the still morning air.

A knock on the door sounded then and he let out a low growl. If it was Kol coming to annoy him and beg for some whiskey AGAIN he was going to stake him, Elijah's plans be damned.

Stubbing out his cigarette against the wooden table he swung his feet off the table, planting his feet on the timber floor.

It only took three steps for him to cross the tiny kitchen and swing open the door.

"Kol I swear if you even…" He trailed off as he took in the sight of the three people standing on his wrap around porch.

Jeremy Gilbert squared his shoulders as he looked Klaus up and down.

"Klaus. I'd say it was a pleasure but I don't actually like you." He spat as he body checked Klaus into the wall. Alaric Saltzman's lips curled into a smile as he followed Jeremy into the depths of the house.

Klaus leaned against the doorway as he looked Katherine Pierce up and down languidly. She looked uneasy, shifting from one foot to the other like she was going to bolt at a moment's notice.

He wouldn't be surprised.

But his instructions were clear. As much as he wanted to, Katerina was off limits as well. Meaning he couldn't kill her, and he had to at least attempt to play nice.

"I'm assuming you're here for a good reason?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Something about Elena and trouble. She's been captured by the Appalachian pack. We're here to monitor the situation."

He stepped backwards.

"Well we wouldn't want to anger my brother now would we? I suppose you'd better come inside."

As he followed her inside his phone lit up from its spot on the kitchen table.

(3) Missed calls from: Kol

(1) New voicemail.

Scooping up the phone he hit the number for his voicemail, pressing his phone to his ear as he listened.

"Evening brother. You said you didn't want to hear from me unless it was an emergency. I'm currently standing with Damon Salvatore, Caroline Forbes, and the doppelganger while a couple of dozen wolves are standing growling at us. Think you could give us a hand maybe?"

He slid his phone into his pockets, swiping his car keys off the table.

"Time to go!" He yelled to the rest of the house as he and Katherine took off running.

* * *

"Well." Damon quipped. "That escalated quickly."

She rolled her eyes from her place beside Damon as she stared at the 50 or so werewolves who were advancing on them in a tight circle. Hayley looked ecstatic as she eyed Kol off.

She'd no doubt been waiting for this opportunity for awhile.

"Wouldn't happen to have any stakes on you would you?" Damon added, turning to Kol who shook his head.

"Unfortunately not. We may just have to pull an Elijah and start ripping hearts out. Just like New Orleans." Kol replied with a fond smile on his face.

Damon just shrugged as he turned back to face the band of werewolves. She stared at Tyler from where she was standing.

"Tyler don't do this." She pleaded as he stared back at her coldly. He shrugged as a way of reply.

"I'm sorry Caroline. But if you're choosing to run with him." He spat in Kol's direction. "Then you've just dug your own grave. You picked your side a long time ago."

"You disappeared!" She shrieked at him. "I woke up and you weren't there. Is this what you've been doing for the past couple of years? Terrorising the community with your pack of minions?"

A sharp growl could be heard somewhere to her left. She didn't bother to see who it was.

"I've been building an army!" He yelled, gesturing around the wide open space. "We're at war Caroline. My kind against yours. And then those stupid humans just had to come and get involved."

"What do you want then?" she said quietly, knowing he could still hear her.

"I want Elena. She's pretty important you know? She always has been."

He laughed at the confused look on her face.

"What they haven't told you why? Oh this is brilliant. You're protecting her, risking your life for her and you don't even know the reason for it."

Kol intervened then, stepping up next to Caroline.

"If you want to survive this I suggest you keep your mouth shut and stop talking now." He said pleasantly.

Tyler scoffed.

"I don't take instructions from you."

Kol shrugged.

"Your funeral."

"Whatever. I've had enough of this. Take the doppelganger and kill the rest."

Chaos ensued as Kol and Damon disappeared under a pile of werewolves. She blurred over to Elena, pushing her against a tree and planting herself firmly in front of the scared human.

A male werewolf eyed her off as he debated the best way to get through her to Elena.

"I wouldn't." she warned him as he lunged for her. In a movement so fast even she was surprised she swung her arm at his head.

It was with immense satisfaction that she saw his head sail clean off his body, the other part of him crumpling to the ground in front of her.

With a growl she looked around for her next victim, a young female charging towards her across the clearing. She straightened, watching in amazement as the girl was downed by an arrow through her eye.

With a frown she looked around the clearing, spotting him straight away in between the darkness of the trees. Jeremy Gilbert waved a leather clad hand at her, before loading his crossbow once more and taking aim.

Seconds later and she found herself on the ground, shrieking as a fully transformed werewolf snapped at her face. She struggle in vain for a few moments. She would not die here. Not tonight.

With a yelp of pain the werewolf was ripped from her body, before it was then ripped in half. She stared in horror and in shock as Klaus Mikaelson grinned at her. Then his gaze turned to one of concern as he looked down at her arm.

The werewolf bite was already beginning to fester as blood oozed from the wound. She looked back up at him pleadingly.

"Well love. I suppose we should do something about that, shouldn't we?"

His phone rang from its spot on the sideboard and he scooped it up, pressing it to his ear.

"We're fine. Klaus, Katherine, Jeremy and Alaric made it just in time." Kol's voice washed over his senses and he sighed in relief.

"This is good news Kol. Were there any casualties?"

"Twenty of the werewolves before Tyler ordered the retreat. We're going to have to clean up that mess soon. He can't be allowed to live after this."

"Agree." He replied lightly. He heard Kol sigh from the other end.

"What do we do now Elijah?"

Staring at the Monet opposite him, he cocked his head to the side.

"I think it's time for all of us to be reunited, don't you? I'll be sending you an address shortly, memorise it, and delete the message. Make sure that you aren't followed. We will meet you there and I will take you to the safe house."

"When are you going to tell her about the Petrova line?"

Kol could only be referring to Elena and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"As soon as I can get her alone. She needs to know why she is so important in this war. She will have a lot of decisions to make in the upcoming weeks."

"I think she suspects something. Caroline mentioned something in passing to me. But we're enroute now. I await your message."

"I'll see you soon Kol."

Hanging up, he pulled up the pre written message containing the information Kol would need and sent it, before sliding his phone into the pocket of his jacket.

Picking up his tea and finishing it off, he finally turned to his companion, who was staring contemplatively into the fire.

"I'm assuming you heard all of that?"

"Yes." Was all he received in reply.

"It looks like you'll get to see your brother sooner than you thought Mr Salvatore."

Stefan Salvatore gave him a tired smile before directing his attentions back to the flames once more.

* * *

A/N: So sorry i've been missing in action for the past few weeks... The real world caught up to me, and i've worked about 80 hours in the past 10 days :(

I've also been focusing on my writing more on other websites, mainly due to lack of feedback i've been getting on here.

Hope you enjoy though :)


	8. Chapter 8

"You're being ridiculous." Klaus says, arms crossed over his chest from where he's leaning against the wall. He looks over at her again, and she tries to avoid his knowing gaze.

Because she is being ridiculous, if she's going to be honest here. It wouldn't be the first time that she's bitten by a werewolf, and this time she really hopes that it will be the last. Considering it seems she's stuck with Klaus for awhile, she highly doubts that it will be.

She can't bear to look at him though, not with Tyler's betrayal so fresh in her mind. Because the thing with Klaus and with her weird relationship with him is that he tempts her to be selfish. He makes her not want to worry about the cares of others, to let go and run and never look back.

He's the cure that she doesn't want, the person who's able to put her back together after she's been ripped apart figuratively speaking. Always has been, always will be.

They'd been in a relationship, if you could call it that. Tyler had left, and Elena had been so caught up with Damon, and Bonnie had snapped and tried to kill her that one time they had a sleepover at Elena's before they all went their separate ways.

She hasn't quite stopped looking over her shoulder for Bonnie whenever she steps outside. Of course with things the way they are now, she doesn't think that she's ever going to be able to stop looking over her shoulder for danger.

And they'd been good together. She always knew that they would be whenever she was willing to entertain the idea of them together.

"I said I don't want your stupid cure." She snaps as a way of reply. He just shrugs and rolls his eyes, all sinful and golden and smiles.

"Your funeral sweetheart. Literally this time." He says with a sigh.

"I'm aware of this." She says coldly, and he mock shivers at her tone.

"So you're just going to die then? Your martyrdom would be admirable in most circumstances. But not now. We kind of need you, if you're not aware."

"What's the point?" She murmurs loud enough for him to hear as she coughs into her hand. He looks at her, concern evident on his features as her entire body curls inwards, the coughs hacking and straining at her lungs. It's close now, the darkness. "What's the point if I'm just going to die painfully further down the track?"

She blinks and suddenly he's there, kneeling in front of her and taking a clammy hand in his. She's surprised because this is Klaus and from all the time that she's know him this is probably the most submissive she's seen him, on his knees before her.

"Caroline." He says, and it sends shivers down her spine, the way he says her name so softly, his voice caressing the three syllables that make up who she is. "You know that I'd never let anything happen to you."

Tears brim in her eyes, because Tyler promised her that once and look where that's gotten her. But Klaus is sincere, so sincere that it scares her in that moment.

"You can't promise me that." She whispers, voice cracking as he looms closer. She freezes as he presses his lips against her forehead, one hand cradling her head gently as he exhales.

"I promise I will never let anything happen to you." He vows, pulling back and gazing at her. "I can make that promise, and I will make that promise." He adds, shaking her a little as if to make the words sink in.

And she believes him. So when he bites into his wrist, offering her the blood that flows freely from the wound, she leans forward and she takes the cure that he's offering.

Because he's always been her cure.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Elijah says seriously, gazing at his younger brother carefully, who dare he say it looks slightly shaken up.

Things must be more serious than he thought, if the devil may care attitude of Kol's has been turned on it's head.

Kol looks skittish as he glances around the opulent room. The safe house is an estate, miles away from any form of civilisation and surrounded by open field for miles in every direction. It's the main reason why he chose this as his location.

It might be in plain sight, but they'd have plenty of warning if someone decided to sneak up on them.

"Is it safe here?" Kol asks, and he nods as a way of reply.

"The house has been swept extensively. I suspect that the previous owners of the house were vampires. There's a rather impressive catalogue of werewolf weaponry in the basement." He remarks almost amusedly, remembering the look on Stefan Salvatore's face when they'd stumbled across it while they were gauging whether or not the house would be safe enough for them all if it came to it.

Kol deposits himself into a chair, and it's then that Elijah realises just how _old _Kol looks. They're all old, well over a thousand years now, but Kol still carries the appearance of a 22 year old man if human standards are anything to go by.

For the first time in perhaps forever, Kol is starting to show his age.

"How did thing get so messed up?" Kol continues with a bitter laugh. "Our family reunited and then scattered to the wind. Finn dead, mother and father dead. You here, pulling all the strings, Rebekah in Rome, Klaus keeping an eye from a distance… how did this happen?"

He sits in a wing backed chair opposite his younger brother, fingers tented together under his chin.

"You might not have been around to see it, but it's a pattern that's been repeated in endless cycles since we were reborn. Somewhere, in some country humans become aware of our existence and try and do something about it. It just so happens that this time they have the means of doing so."

"Do I have reason to be worried?" Kol asks quietly, and Elijah realises how much weight Kol is putting behind this question, realises that his answer is either going to do a great deal to boost his morale, or a great cause of detriment.

So he settles for middle ground.

"I'm not sure yet."

* * *

He catches Stefan as he's stepping out of Caroline's room. Not that he'd ever admit it, but the blonde vampire has kind of been a constant in his life, and he doesn't really want her to die. He was going to convince her to take Klaus' blood, but it seems that Klaus himself beat him to the punch so to say.

He's a lot more relieved than he thought he would be. Because he's seen what this lifestyle does to Caroline. She's not really cut out for it. She's been through the most incredible of circumstances since turning, and she's remained surprisingly resilient over the past couple of years, let alone the past couple of days where they'd been hunted, captured, and almost killed.

She's made for a life of wandering and travelling and discovering and experiencing all the world has to offer, as cliché as that sounds. She's not made for this; for the hiding and the running and the always looking over her shoulder, worrying if someone is going to shoot her or stake her or betray her at every turn.

Klaus is still with her, in that overprotective, but somehow not creepy way that he always manages to perfect. He never thought he'd admit it, especially after all that Klaus has done to terrorise his group of friends but he's good for her. He's good for her in a way that no one else has ever been. Klaus looks at Caroline like he's her entire world, and although he might be unstable and psychotic and relish the idea of death and destruction a little too much to be considered normal; if Caroline is kept safe under Klaus' watchful eye, then maybe he might be okay with that.

He would only ever admit that under pain of torture though thankyou very much. He lunges forward, catching Stefan's arm as he brushes past him. Green eyes meet his in an intense gaze before they flick to where Damon's hand is curled tightly around his arm. A raise of the eyebrow is all it takes for Damon to drop his brother's arm. Stefan ignores him, continuing down the dimly lit hallway to the stairs leading down below. He trails after him, making quips about his height and his hair and his beard that he had going on, because he was the older brother and that was what older brother's did.

He's surprised then when Stefan turns on him with a hiss, pushing him against the wall with a snarl.

"Stop talking." Stefan growls, and for the first time in a very long time Damon sees traces of the ripper. There's a trickle of blood a the corner of Stefan's mouth, and very deliberately Damon leans forward as much as he's able too and pokes at the skin there.

He's surprised that Stefan doesn't bite his finger off.

"Just want to talk to you brother. It's been what three or four years now?"

Stefan releases him, stepping backwards and putting some distance between them as he swipes at his mouth. He looks bemused at the whole situation as he looks Damon up and down.

"We've gone longer without talking Damon. You know that."

"Maybe I just miss my little brother." Damon quips as a way of reply. Stefan just looks at him, his gaze dark and thoughtful before turning away and melting into the darkness.

* * *

"Thank you all for coming." Elijah remarks from his spot in front of the fire place. He looks on the vampires arrayed before him with a ghost of a smile.

Caroline is seated front and centre on the couch, still looking a little weak and pale from the effects of her fight with the werewolves. Klaus is seated next to her, arm slung casually around the back of the couch.

Kol is at the window, and still looks ready to bolt at a moments notice. That's always been Kol's style though, he's been the least involved in their family over the past couple of centuries. He fled for the first time once they'd all been turned, and he'd been trying to run from his past ever since.

Damon and Stefan are standing side by side, mirrored poses and studiously trying to avoid the others gaze. He guesses that the Salvatore brothers have more than a few issues to work through and sort out, things that they would have to tackle sooner rather than later if they were all going to survive this.

Jeremy is in the corner, blending in far too well with the shadows. He's heard only whispers of the things Jeremy has got up to in Rome, training up to be one of the famed and revered Five. The younger boy has changed, grown into a man seemingly overnight. Alaric stands next to him, the human untouched by something supernatural in this gathering. Surprisingly enough Katherine has chosen to hover close to them, and he wanders what has happened to the three of them to allow this level of trust between Jeremy Gilbert and Katerina Petrova. They're bound by blood, but not a short while ago Jeremy would have loved to plunge a stake through Katerina's heart.

They're missing Rebekah, but he hopes that she'll join them soon. It's about time that they were all in one place.

"Thank you all for coming." He repeats again, catching each of their eyes as he speaks. He's always been a good orator, and he plans on utilising this as much as he can. "I know that the past couple of years have been trying to say the least."

Damon snorts in amusement as he looks around the room. The others are listless, agreeing with the shift in their posture or the haunted look in their eyes. They've all been affected by this, whether they mean to be or not.

"I thought it prudent to discuss this while Elena is still sleeping. What I have to tell you concerns a startling discovery I've made about the Petrova bloodline."

Katerina gazes at him impassively, head tilted to the side while she smiles knowingly. He's not surprised that she's found out the great secret behind her bloodline, she's always been far too perceptive for her own good.

Klaus has a ghost of a smirk on his face as well, and of course Klaus knows about this because it's Klaus. And he seemingly knows everything.

"We're listening oh wise one." Damon quips from his corner of the room as he pours himself a drink, and Elijah resists the urge to roll his eyes, he really does. He may or may not succeed, if the amused look on Stefan's face is anything to go by.

"The Petrova's are a unique family. Their line can be traced back a thousand years ago, to Tatia. Vampires are created. We can establish that yes?" He asked, looking around at the occupants of the room. They all nodded, even Alaric who looked incredibly confused.

"Not the Petrova's. We call ourselves the Originals because we were the first vampires to be created. It's something that has settled into the vampire community all over the world. We were something to be revered, something to be fearful of. The most powerful of them all." He paused, delivering the next line offhandedly. "But we were not the first vampires."

It's Caroline that's gaping at him, looking confusedly from him to Klaus. He understands something of what she's feeling, because he remembers when he made that discovery only a few years ago.

"How is that even possible? Mother said that she used the blood of Tatia Petrova to turn us all." Kol continues with a frown.

"Didn't you ever wonder how it was that we became vampires? Creatures that supposedly didn't exist on this earth before then? Why did we turn into monsters rather than humans blessed with unnaturally long lives?"

"Bonnie was always talking about a balance of nature. Wouldn't you having long lives go against nature?" Jeremy asks with a frown, and Elijah is slightly impressed. It's a good question.

"No more than us turning into vampires." Elijah replies lightly with a deferential nod to the vampire hunter. "The fact is, the blood that turned us into vampires came from another vampire. Tatia." He pronounced with a serene smile.

Klaus picked up the story then, his hand brushing softly against Caroline's shoulders. Caroline turned to him as he began to speak.

"The Petrova's are the oldest vampire line in the world. They kept their very existence such a secret that they were able to blend in with the human civilisation almost effortlessly. They have a better control over their bloodlust, their senses and abilities are even more heightened than ours."

Katherine picked at her nails, looking slightly bored with the whole situation.

"I swear you people are all stupid." She states, getting to her feet. "How do you think I was able to go toe to toe with Klaus and live? Because whether he wants to admit it or not, I can equal if not better him."

"I'd love to see you try darling." Klaus murmurs flirtatiously, causing Caroline to shoot a glare towards the other Petrova.

"Thanks darling, but you're not exactly my type." Katherine replies with a flutter of her eyelashes. "Some other time maybe. Anyway from what I can gather, Petrova's are the oldest bloodline in the world as Elijah has already stated. It's something in our biology makeup and our DNA. Unlike the rest of you, we don't get a choice as to whether or not we turn."

"That's going to go down well." Damon muttered dryly, no doubt thinking about Elena and her continued resistance towards the idea of vampirism.

"So she's going to turn anyway?" Stefan asked with a frown. Elijah shared his concerns. It wasn't ideal, what she'd have to go through in the upcoming months.

"She won't have a choice." Katherine replies with a bitter smile. "Something will happen to trigger it, some sort of stressful situation that she'll find herself in and she'll react accordingly. This in turn will trigger some sort of transition period and she'll have the choice to turn or not."

"So similar to the rest of you." Alaric clarified as Elijah nodded. "So she can still choose to not transition if she wants?"

"She'll still die if she doesn't if that's what you were getting at." Katherine replied with a sneer. "Vampirism or death. Those are her only options."

"There's something else unique about the Petrova bloodline, but it's only something that happens if the vampirism option is chosen." Klaus continues as he meets Elijah's gaze.

Elijah nods minutely, giving the ok for Klaus to continue.

"Each Petrova woman that chooses to become a vampire inherits the skills and memories of her ancestors. So if Elena does choose to transition she's going to be very overwhelmed. But once she sorts through it she's also going to be very powerful."

"This is crazy." Caroline exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're trying to tell me that my best friend is pre destined to become a vampire whether she likes it or not, and she's going to be powerful enough to kill everyone in this room. Stuff like this doesn't happen to people like us."

Klaus grins.

"Knowing me is proof enough that stuff like this unfortunately does happen to people like you. But in short yes, that's the gist of it."

The room is silent, the occupants floored by the information that's just been dumped on them.

"So what do you want us to do? Why are you telling us all of this?" Damon asks quickly with a frown marring his features.

Elijah pauses, choosing his words carefully.

"I want you to convince her to transition. I need all of you to convince her that vampirism is the best option."

* * *

A/N: So the whole Petrova bloodline thing comes to light. What do you think of my take on it? I'm kind of scared how this season is turning out haha... I picked that Jeremy would be one of The Five, I wrote about Kol in New Orleans then he died there... so many strange coincedences hahaha. Elena will find out about all this stuff probably next chapter when she and Elijah have a chat. Everyone is all together now! Sorry for the long absence, i haven't really been inspired to continue to write this story. But i'm back!

Review?


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